It’s a new year, which means meetup time! This happens on 10th January from 6pm. As always, these are informal affairs where the beer flows, offering an opportunity to put faces to the names of a few LR writers as well as regular commentators. All are welcome, and conversation is often as much general as it is transport-specific. Where to find us We will be in the upstairs room at The Royal Oak on Tabard Street. Its location makes it easy to get to from a number of stations. A map is ...

In The Dangerous Sound of Silence we looked at the reasons why Crossrail’s delay was not spotted earlier. Possibly more importantly, we looked at why that delay was not fully communicated to those who needed to know about it once it became probable that the project would be significantly late and over-budget. What really matters now is to get Crossrail safely up and running as soon as realistically possible. Enter Mark Wild To that end, in November 2018, Mark Wild was appointed CEO of ...

We have been critical of the wall of silence that has enveloped Crossrail. In a welcome contrast, at the December 2018 meeting of the Programmes and Investment Committee, the public were treated to a full, frank and open presentation from Mark Wild, the new Chief Executive at Crossrail, about the current situation, the problems that lie ahead and the factors that will determine when Crossrail will open. In this, the first of two articles, we look at what led to Crossrail getting into a state ...

With the deadline for entering now passed it is time to provide answers to the 2018 London Reconnections Quiz. This is our initial offering of the answers. However so many of you provided so much interesting additional detail, in time we hope to augment the details with some of the information given by those who provided rather more than the bare minimum needed to answer the question. Question 1 We asked what was common about four events in 2018. This was an opening question designed to get your ...

On Thursday 26th July 2018 a meeting took place at City Hall. The subject was Crossrail – the Elizabeth line – and whether it would open on time. Up front were Simon Wright, Crossrail’s then-CEO, and Sir Terry Morgan, its Chairman. To the assembled senior officials from TfL and City Hall, their presentation would have left little room for doubt: Crossrail would not be ready to open in December.

It’s that time of year again. Advent calendars are being opened, presents purchased and the tabloids are preparing their ‘outrage’ pieces about vital Christmas works. That means, of course, that is time for the London Reconnections Christmas Transport Quiz. An annual tradition, the Christmas Quiz tests not only your transport knowledge but also your ability to think laterally. The questions are intended to vary between easy and difficult, but not impossible – or at least not ...